Alexander Technique + Stress
What is stress? What causes stress? How do we make stress go away?
Stress is caused by stressors. These are often things in our daily lives such as pressure at work, home, or in relationships, facing big changes, if you’re worrying about something, not having control over the outcome of a situation, having responsibilities that you’re finding overwhelming, not having enough work, activities, or change in your life, and being in times of uncertainty.
“Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you sense danger—whether it’s real or imagined—the body’s defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction or the ‘stress response.’”
This biological response to demands and threats is not intended for harm, in fact quite the opposite. It is meant to help save your life so that you can be “focused, energetic, and alert” as well as have “extra strength to defend yourself.” The problem comes when we, biologically, are not able to distinguish between life threatening stress situations and low level stress situations.
So if this is biological, how do we appreciate stress when it is low-level and can help us and distinguish between harmful, toxic stress?
What happens biologically is this: Fight-or-Flight
-body release stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol
-heart pounds faster
-muscles tighten
-blood pressure rises
-breath quickens
-senses become “sharper”
If you are stressed more often than not, you may be under chronic stress which “disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can suppress your immune system, upset your digestive and reproductive systems, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and speed up the aging process. It can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.”
“Health problems caused or exacerbated by stress include:
-Depression and anxiety
-Pain of any kind
-Sleep problems
-Autoimmune diseases
-Digestive problems
-Skin conditions, such as eczema
-Heart disease
-Reproductive issues
-Thinking and memory problems”
An article by Richard Brennan about the Alexander Technique, exemplifies exactly why the Alexander Technique can be used to help reduce and better manage stress. In its essence, the Alexander Technique is about unlearning harmful, toxic habits which in this case we will call an over excitable stress reflex. It works to release and balance muscular tension. He states that, “this excess tension… can give rise to common ailments such as arthritis, neck and back pain, migraines, hypertension, sciatica, insomnia and even depression.”
Despite our best efforts to reduce stress and stress related pain, depression, anxiety, etc. there are more and more people suffering of these problems. If treated to quell their symptoms, or without an understanding of what is causing their stress, it will continue. What is needed is the right education to “understand the causes of their problems and be taught to help themselves.”
As well as helping release and re-balance muscular tension, the Alexander Technique teaches new ways to move that allow for ease and poise in activity and stillness. Brennan says, “… many people who practice the Technique experience a general feeling of lightness throughout their bodies and even describe the sensation as being like ‘walking on air.’ Since our physical state directly affects both our mental and emotional well-being, people often say that they feel much calmer and happier even after just a few Alexander lessons. This often results in less domestic tension and a greater ability to cope with life in general.”
A study done by C. Stallibrass on the evaluation of the Alexander Technique for the management of disability in Parkinson’s disease, found that “post-lessons the subjects were significantly (p<0.05) less depressed.” There is more about the Alexander Technique and Parkinson’s Disease here!
In his book The Alexander Technique: How to use your body without stress, Dr. Wilfred Barlow talks about how the Alexander Technique can help with hypertension in general and related to stress.
“It seems crystal clear to me that since most blood vessels traverse or are surrounded by muscles, any over contraction of the muscle is bound to squeeze the lumen of the blood vessels and thereby make it more difficult for the blood to be pumped through them by the heart. The less the obstruction to the blood flow, the less the pressure.”
In Theodore Dimon’s book, The Undivided Self: Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress, he states that:
Stress is caused by stressors. These are often things in our daily lives such as pressure at work, home, or in relationships, facing big changes, if you’re worrying about something, not having control over the outcome of a situation, having responsibilities that you’re finding overwhelming, not having enough work, activities, or change in your life, and being in times of uncertainty.
“Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you sense danger—whether it’s real or imagined—the body’s defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction or the ‘stress response.’”
This biological response to demands and threats is not intended for harm, in fact quite the opposite. It is meant to help save your life so that you can be “focused, energetic, and alert” as well as have “extra strength to defend yourself.” The problem comes when we, biologically, are not able to distinguish between life threatening stress situations and low level stress situations.
So if this is biological, how do we appreciate stress when it is low-level and can help us and distinguish between harmful, toxic stress?
What happens biologically is this: Fight-or-Flight
-body release stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol
-heart pounds faster
-muscles tighten
-blood pressure rises
-breath quickens
-senses become “sharper”
If you are stressed more often than not, you may be under chronic stress which “disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can suppress your immune system, upset your digestive and reproductive systems, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and speed up the aging process. It can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.”
“Health problems caused or exacerbated by stress include:
-Depression and anxiety
-Pain of any kind
-Sleep problems
-Autoimmune diseases
-Digestive problems
-Skin conditions, such as eczema
-Heart disease
-Reproductive issues
-Thinking and memory problems”
An article by Richard Brennan about the Alexander Technique, exemplifies exactly why the Alexander Technique can be used to help reduce and better manage stress. In its essence, the Alexander Technique is about unlearning harmful, toxic habits which in this case we will call an over excitable stress reflex. It works to release and balance muscular tension. He states that, “this excess tension… can give rise to common ailments such as arthritis, neck and back pain, migraines, hypertension, sciatica, insomnia and even depression.”
Despite our best efforts to reduce stress and stress related pain, depression, anxiety, etc. there are more and more people suffering of these problems. If treated to quell their symptoms, or without an understanding of what is causing their stress, it will continue. What is needed is the right education to “understand the causes of their problems and be taught to help themselves.”
As well as helping release and re-balance muscular tension, the Alexander Technique teaches new ways to move that allow for ease and poise in activity and stillness. Brennan says, “… many people who practice the Technique experience a general feeling of lightness throughout their bodies and even describe the sensation as being like ‘walking on air.’ Since our physical state directly affects both our mental and emotional well-being, people often say that they feel much calmer and happier even after just a few Alexander lessons. This often results in less domestic tension and a greater ability to cope with life in general.”
A study done by C. Stallibrass on the evaluation of the Alexander Technique for the management of disability in Parkinson’s disease, found that “post-lessons the subjects were significantly (p<0.05) less depressed.” There is more about the Alexander Technique and Parkinson’s Disease here!
In his book The Alexander Technique: How to use your body without stress, Dr. Wilfred Barlow talks about how the Alexander Technique can help with hypertension in general and related to stress.
“It seems crystal clear to me that since most blood vessels traverse or are surrounded by muscles, any over contraction of the muscle is bound to squeeze the lumen of the blood vessels and thereby make it more difficult for the blood to be pumped through them by the heart. The less the obstruction to the blood flow, the less the pressure.”
In Theodore Dimon’s book, The Undivided Self: Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress, he states that:
If you'd like to explore the Alexander Technique as a way to reduce or eliminate your stress, reach out here!